[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 246 (Friday, December 21, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75780-75781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30595]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

29 CFR Part 9

RIN 1215-AB69; 1235-AA02


Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts; 
Effective Date

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Final rule; notice of effective date and OMB approval of 
information collection requirements.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor announces the effective date of its 
Final Rule published on August 29, 2011, to implement Executive Order 
13495, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts 
(Executive Order 13495 or Order). Executive Order 13495 states that the 
Order shall apply to solicitations issued on or after the effective 
date of regulations issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory 
Council (FARC) to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to 
provide for the inclusion of the contract clause set forth in Executive 
Order 13495 in Federal solicitations and contracts for services subject 
to the Order (FARC Final Rule). The Department of Labor Final Rule 
provided that it would not be effective until the FARC issued the FARC 
Final Rule, and that as a result, the Department of Labor would publish 
a notice in the Federal Register announcing the effective date once the 
effective date was determined. The FARC has established January 18, 
2013 as the effective date for its final rule. In accordance with the 
Department of Labor Final Rule, this document advises the public of the 
effective date of the Department's Final Rule. In addition, in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Department of 
Labor announces that the Office of Management and Budget has approved 
the information collection requirements contained in the Department of 
Labor Final Rule.

DATES: The effective date for the Final Rule published on August 29, 
2011 (76 FR 53720), is January 18, 2013. In addition, on December 7, 
2011, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act the Department of Labor's information 
collection request for requirements in 29 CFR 9.21; 9.12(a), (b), 
(e)(1), (e)(2), and (f) as published in the Federal Register on August 
29, 2011. See 76 FR 53744. The current expiration date for OMB 
authorization for this information collection is December 31, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Helm, Division of Enforcement 
Policies and Procedures, Branch Chief, Branch of Government Contracts 
Enforcement, Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, at (202) 
693-0064 (this is not a toll-free number).
    This notice is available through the printed Federal Register and 
electronically via the http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html Web site.
    Copies of this notice may be obtained in alternative formats (Large 
Print, Braille, Audio Tape or Disc), upon request, by calling (202) 
693-0023 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TDD callers may dial toll-free 
(877) 889-5627 to

[[Page 75781]]

obtain information or request materials in alternative formats.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 13495 establishes a general 
policy of the Federal Government concerning service contracts and 
solicitations for service contracts for performance of the same or 
similar services at the same location. This policy mandates the 
inclusion of a contract clause requiring the successor contractor and 
its subcontractors to offer those employees employed under the 
predecessor contract, whose employment will be otherwise terminated as 
a result of the award of the successor contract, a right of first 
refusal of employment under the successor contract in positions for 
which they are qualified. Because the Executive Order applies to 
contract solicitations issued on or after the effective date for FARC 
Final Rule, the Department of Labor's final rule published August 29, 
2011 (76 FR 53720) could not become effective until the effective date 
of the FARC Final Rule. The FARC Final Rule has an effective date of 
January 18, 2013. The effective date of the Department's Final Rule 
also is January 18, 2013.
    The Department's final rule includes information collection 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Specifically, the 
final rule requires information collections for employment offers 
(Sec.  9.12(a), (b), (e)(1), (e)(2), and (f)), and related to the 
filing of complaints (Sec.  9.21)). As discussed in the preamble to the 
final rule, the Department submitted the information collections 
contained therein to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
approval. (76 FR 53744) On December 7, 2011, OMB approved the 
Department's information collection request under Control Number 1235-
0025, thus giving effect to the information collection requirements 
contained in the final rule published in the Federal Register on August 
29, 2011. The current expiration date for OMB authorization for this 
information collection is December 13, 2014.
    The Department has determined that good cause exists to make this 
Final Rule effective on January 18, 2013, concurrent with the effective 
date of the FARC Final Rule. This Final Rule is a technical amendment 
to the Department's final rule published in the Federal Register on 
August 29, 2011 (76 FR 53720), in which the Department advised the 
public that the rule would not be effective until the FARC issued the 
FARC Final Rule, and that as a result, the Department would publish a 
notice in the Federal Register announcing the effective date once the 
effective date was determined. Contractors and subcontractors subject 
to the Department's Final Rule have had sufficient opportunity to 
determine how they would comply with the Department's Final Rule. 
Furthermore, it is in the public interest to make the effective date of 
the Department's Final Rule concurrent with the FARC Final Rule's 
effective date to avoid confusion that could result for contractors and 
subcontractors if the two rules were to have differing effective dates. 
For the reasons stated, it is the Department's position that is not 
necessary to delay the effective date of this Final Rule until 30 days 
after publication in the Federal Register.

    Dated: December 13, 2012.
Mary Beth Maxwell,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Wage and Hour Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-30595 Filed 12-20-12; 8:45 am]
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